For the second night in a row, 2024 GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis ran into a technical difficulty at a key moment — this time during a Newsmax interview.
On Wednesday night, DeSantis’ much-anticipated campaign announcement during a Twitter Spaces event was marred by crashes, causing a delay of about 20 minutes. DeSantis appeared on Fox News later that evening, where guest host Trey Gowdy poked fun at the inconvenience, joking, “Fox News is not going to go down during this interview.” It actually didn’t.
Apparently, Newsmax couldn’t quite guarantee the same. On The balance, host Eric Bolling asked the Florida governor about the NAACP issuing a travel advisory for minorities and LGBTQ+ individuals planning to go to the state, citing DeSantis’ “relentless attack on fundamental freedoms” through actions such as book bans and defunding of diversity programs at state colleges. (Bolling mistakenly referred to the guidance as a “ban.”)
“What is your response to the NAACP for our audience?” asked Bolling, just as that audience saw a frozen split-screen.
“This is such a stunt. It’s a typical political farce,” DeSantis can still be heard saying, despite the frozen image. Shortly thereafter, the image feed resumed, only to freeze again about 40 seconds later as DeSantis spoke about minorities in non-Florida locations.
“If you’re in Chicago or you’re in Baltimore, these kids have a better chance of getting shot than getting a decent education. I don’t see the NAACP talking about Chicago or Baltimore. No, they’re focused on Florida, where people of all races have the opportunity to advance,” he asserted.
Almost 30 seconds later, the visual feed finally resumed, this time for good.
